Social Sciences and Modernity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Explores political, economic, sociocultural, & philosophical issues in sub-Saharan Africa influenced by modernity. After analyzing origins of the crisis of progressive thought in the social sciences on modernity, structural adjustment policies & economic globalization trends are reviewed. It...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African sociological review 1999-01, Vol.3 (1), p.35-55
Main Author: Akindes, Francis
Format: Article
Language:fre
Subjects:
Globalization
Modernity
Polanyi, Michael
Social Sciences
Sub Saharan Africa
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Summary:Explores political, economic, sociocultural, & philosophical issues in sub-Saharan Africa influenced by modernity. After analyzing origins of the crisis of progressive thought in the social sciences on modernity, structural adjustment policies & economic globalization trends are reviewed. It is argued that economic reforms imply necessary cultural changes (Karl Polanyi), that the economy is a subsystem of the social system, & that the entire social structure must be reworked in order to introduce dynamics into the economy. The effect on African social sciences of imported Western epistemological problems & praxis are discussed. Problems include the regressive ethnologization of social reflection, the absence of intellectual autonomy, the critique of the state as a refuge for thought, the infallibility of tradition, the scapegoat complex, & the traumatic effects of colonialism. A call is made for African social science that serves as a tool for pragmatic reflection, intellectual stimulation, & self-understanding. 48 References. J. Sadler
ISSN:1027-4332